Prayer & Love
April 28, 2024 • Jon Morales
When her enslaver fell into financial trouble, a newlywed Harriet Tubman realized her family would soon be torn apart and sold for top dollar. It was then she faced unthinkable danger by attempting an escape from slavery. At the end of her long journey from Maryland to Philadelphia, Tubman had achieved her lifelong dream of freedom—but her story didn’t end there. Selflessly, and fueled by her Christian faith, Tubman dedicated her life to setting others free. As a Conductor in the Underground Railroad, she sacrificed her own safety to bring approximately 70 people—including her family—to freedom. From there, she continued to fight in both the abolitionist and suffragist movements until her death in 1913. Like Tubman, we have a mission to the world. Join us this Sunday as our upcoming message, “Prayer and Identity,” reveals how we can be most heavenly-minded and of the most earthly good.
Prayer & Identity
April 21, 2024 • Jon Morales
When her enslaver fell into financial trouble, a newlywed Harriet Tubman realized her family would soon be torn apart and sold for top dollar. It was then she faced unthinkable danger by attempting an escape from slavery. At the end of her long journey from Maryland to Philadelphia, Tubman had achieved her lifelong dream of freedom—but her story didn’t end there. Selflessly, and fueled by her Christian faith, Tubman dedicated her life to setting others free. As a Conductor in the Underground Railroad, she sacrificed her own safety to bring approximately 70 people—including her family—to freedom. From there, she continued to fight in both the abolitionist and suffragist movements until her death in 1913. Like Tubman, we have a mission to the world. Join us this Sunday as our upcoming message, “Prayer and Identity,” reveals how we can be most heavenly-minded and of the most earthly good.
Prayer & Fullness
April 14, 2024 • Jon Morales • John 17:6–12
It was a Saturday with nothing planned, so you decided to surprise your kids with a trip to Chuck E. Cheese. A few hours later, the tokens have been spent, the pizza eaten, and the last of their over-priced prizes secured. From your seat at the table, you see the kids make their way over to you with smiling faces and, without a word from you, start gathering their things and putting on their coats. Your middle child remarks, “Wow, what a day we’ve had! You didn’t have to do this, you know, but you really made our day. Probably best to head home now. Thanks again for everything!” If you’ve ever raised kids—or set foot in a Chuck E. Cheese—this might sound like an alternate universe. Perhaps something like this feels more familiar: “Can’t we stay just 5 more minutes! All I’m saying is we barely got any tokens today… plus I’m still hungry. Why can’t we get dessert? I’m only asking for one more ride, but you won’t even give me that!” As parents, we work hard to teach our kids to say “thank you” and be grateful, but could we be just as guilty as they? Join us this Sunday to discover what our new message, “Prayer and Fullness,” reveals about the way many of us approach our own Father.
Prayer & Heaven
April 7, 2024 • Jon Morales • John 17:1–5
Among the most iconic moments in cinematic history is Neo’s life-altering choice between two pills: red or blue. The protagonist of the 1999 blockbuster, The Matrix, must decide whether to return to the simple life he knows, or to have his eyes opened to a greater, mind-bending reality. You and I face a similar choice. Will we live for the world we see today, or seek the higher reality of heaven—a realm beyond our wildest imagination? Join us this Sunday as our upcoming message, “Prayer and Heaven,” invites us to unlock the greater depths of prayer, by which we’re unleashed to experience the wonders and glories of heaven on earth.
Our Only Hope For Loving God
May 7, 2023 • Jon Morales • Psalm 63
As our Prayer series concludes, we’ll look at the totality of Psalm 63 and note the not-so-subtle shift in vs. 9–11. For the first eight verses, the focus is firmly on David’s love and admiration for God. But suddenly, his attention turns to those who would be threats to the king. The language change is so abrupt it’s as if these three verses don’t even fit the psalm. Yet, through the contrast these verses provide, we discover our only hope of loving God for God.
C'mon My Soul.
April 30, 2023 • Adam Mashni • Psalm 42
This week we study a psalm that embodies life on the struggle bus. The psalmist longs to be at the Temple praising God as he has done before. But life has him somewhere else, in far more challenging circumstances, and he’s yearning for relief. Yet, we see a beautiful refrain where he turns, pauses, and begins coaching himself in the ways of God. When life gets tough, it can be hard to connect with God. But Psalm 42 provides prayer tools to help us turn our eyes upward when spiraling down.
Training to Love God For God
April 23, 2023 • Jon Morales • Psalm 63
Late in 1965, in Detroit, Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston recorded “It Takes Two,” a song that depicted many things in life (dreams, love, wishes, etc.) being better with two people instead of one. But human relationships require diligent and ongoing work to flourish, and both parties must contribute. Our relationship with God is no different. If we’re going to love God for God, then God must do something, and we must do something. In this week’s message, we’ll discover those two things.
Feeling and Prayer
July 10, 2022 • Jon Morales • Psalm 16
Emotions are tricky. For some of us, voicing the things in our hearts is effortless and done frequently. For others, it isn't easy to let our feelings show, even to those with whom we are most intimate. And all of us could probably employ a bit more emotional range when talking with God. Thankfully, the Psalms exemplify expressive communication with our heavenly father. As we wrap up our prayer series this weekend, Psalm 16 will challenge us to rethink three critical areas to unlock our prayer life more fully.
The Presence Psalm
June 26, 2022 • Psalm 130
We are not good at standing by. Whether waiting for something to happen or to finish, most of us struggle to bide our time. Having patience can be all the more challenging regarding our relationship with God. We typically are seeking something urgent from God rather than desiring God himself. In our series entitled “Prayer: Longing for God’s Presence,” this week, we’ll see how watching and waiting with God can increase our longing for him.
How to Think About Prayer
June 19, 2022 • Jon Morales • Psalm 27
As followers of Jesus, each of us faces stressful circumstances that could and should drive us to prayer. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen, at least not right away. Any reluctance to pray may have several reasons, but ultimately it belies something more significant – an underlying belief about who God is. In our new series entitled “Prayer: Longing for God’s Presence,” we’ll spend four weeks in the Psalms learning to talk with God (i.e., pray). This week, we’ll see that how we think about prayer radically changes how we pray.